The Weirdest Girl in the School
by RamblingRoses
Summary: Eleanor Durham, Elsie for short, had never really had many friends. A history of children being cruel, a love for good books, and a quiet demeanour meant by age 10 Elsie was a natural loner. What happens when she discovers she's actually a witch?
1. An Incident

**The Weirdest Girl in the School**

_Elsie Durham had never really had many friends. A history of children being cruel, Elsie being a bit "different" and a love for good books meant that by the time she was 10, Elsie was a natural loner._

_This suited Elsie just fine, but her mum and teachers began to be a bit worried, saying things like "You've got to put yourself out there, Elsie. You can't hide behind your books forever."_

_This is an account of what happened one day when Elsie decided to step out from behind her book, and the events that followed._

**Chapter 1**

It was a bright, sunny day at St Wilfred's Primary School, and Elsie, a blonde-haired, buck-toothed girl in grade 5, hoped it was a day that would pass without incident. She had just borrowed "Alice in Wonderland" from the library, and looked forward to reading it at lunchtime. She also looked forward to eating her chicken sandwich that her mum had made that morning.

She had to get through class first though, and that meant putting up with _David Lemon_. David was one of those kids whose goal was to be as frustrating as possible to as many people as possible at the one time. Unfortunately, Elsie shared a desk with him.

"So Elsie, have you got a boyfriend?" asked David when she sat down at her desk. Elsie did what she usually did, and ignored him. They were working on spelling, which was (call her mad) Elsie's favourite part of school. This was because she usually got everything right. Maths however...

Some time later, David asked again, "So Elsie, have you ever kissed anyone?" Once again Elsie ignored David, which was for the best, because at this point he had begun miming a bad kiss, sticking his tongue out and wiggling it in the air.

"Elsie, have you ever kissed anyone? Ever snogged anyone? Ever pashed?" He continued badgering her like this for about 10 minutes, whenever the teacher wasn't looking. Sick of the badgering, and trying to concentrate on her maths work, Elsie snapped "No, I haven't!" in the hope that an answer would make him stop. But it didn't.

"I bet it's cos you're ugly! Everyone's scared of your horrible buck teeth, Elsie, you look like a rabbit! Want a carrot?"

_Don't cry, don't cry! _Elsie thought to herself, and thankfully, the lunch bell rang. In the rush to get outside no one noticed her furiously wiping away the one tear that betrayed her, falling down her face.

Elsie walked as quickly as she could to the library, only to discover with dismay that it was closed! She headed to the playground and found a seat under a tree, and settled in to read her book.

"What are you reading Elsie?" demanded a snide voice. Elsie looked up, and saw it belonged to Aleesha, the most popular girl in school. "Yeah, tell us what you're reading!" demanded the chorus of girls Aleesha never went anywhere without.

Elsie stood up, showed them the cover and calmly walked away. They followed her. "You moved it too quick, Elsie. Come on, we just want you to tell us what you're reading. We're not being mean, we promise!" Soon they had her surrounded. "Umm, it's Alice in Wonderland," said Elsie hesitantly.

The girls cracked up laughing, and Aleesha snatched the book out of Elsie's hands, and threw it to the ground. "Why would you read it when there's a movie already? Reading's a waste of time!" The girls, still laughing, kicked dirt over the book and walked away.

Elsie picked up her book and shook the dirt out of it, wishing she had a skill for comebacks like so many of her favourite book and film characters did. To be like the Doctor, always with a comeback, never without a few smart words to make his enemies look stupid, and cower in fear. Or to be like Peter Pan, and just fly away.

Nevertheless, the day was not over, and there was still the afternoon block of class to get through. The thought of David Lemon made her shudder. Perhaps lunch had subdued him, and this afternoon would pass without event. Elsie didn't know how much more harrassment she could take without exploding.

That afternoon the class was working on Maths, again, much to Elsie's distaste. The numbers kept wriggling around in front of her, donning top hats and doing an irish jig on the pages of her book, which was quite distracting.

Then David nudged her and said "Did you have carrot for lunch, rabbit-face?" Something inside her snapped, and she stood up, slammed her hands on the the table, and the strangest thing happened. Her copy of Alice in Wonderland flew into David's face, and began beating him about the head. Elsie looked at her hands. They were both on the table, the book was doing it of its own accord.

"STOP! MISS! SHE'S HITTING ME!" screamed David and the whole class turned around to look. Instantly the book fell on the table. "Elsie! Outside, now!"

Stunned, Elsie obeyed.

It seemed like an age before the teacher came outside. Elsie was sitting quietly in the hallway, and as the door opened she said "I didn't hit him, I swear. The book did it by itself."

"Elsie," she started calmly. "I know you've had a rough day. But that's no reason to hit people, and it's quite unlike you!"

"But I didn't hit him!" _I wanted to,_ she thought to herself.

"I'll have to give you a detention, and a note to take home to your parents. This kind of behaviour just can't be tolerated, okay Elsie? If David's giving you a hard time, just tell me."

_Sure, _thought Elsie. _Like that's gonna work. Unless..._ "Can I change seats, Miss? Can I sit by myself in class?"

"I'll think about it. We have to get you making friends Elsie, and sitting by yourself won't help. Come on, come back inside. You can sit at the empty desk until class is over," said the teacher, and at that they both went back inside.

Elsie daydreamed all afternoon, wondering what exactly had happened with the "book incident". Was it magic? Or had she really snapped and started hitting David herself? On her walk home she imagined all sorts of explanations, and wondered if anything else strange would happen next time she got angry.

When she got home, she dumped her bag on her bed and walked into the kitchen. Elsie's home was small, but comfortable. It was just the two of them living there, Elsie, and her mum, and this was their fifth house since Elsie started primary school. The kitchen was big enough to fit a dining table for six, and was painted yellow. It was on the side of the house, and overlooked the backyard fence. A lovely view of colorbond. Well, at least it was green, and the same couldn't be said for their backyard.

"Yuck. Fishcakes."

"Well tomorrow's pay-day, sweetie, I have to cook whatever's left over," said Elsie's mum, Linda. She was fair, round, but not large, with blonde frizzy hair and round glasses. "No hello? How are you?"

"Sorry mum. I had a bad day at school." Elsie poured herself a glass of milk and slumped in a chair at the dining table. "Hello. How are you?"

"Thank you. I'm good, and there's a letter for you on the dining table."

"I have a letter for you too mum." Elsie fished the letter out of her pocket and put it on the dining table.

"I'll read it after dinner's done. Open yours, it looks important!"

Elsie examined the letter addressed to her with scrutiny. The address was written, not typed, and it looked like it was written with one of those old fashioned pens they dipped in ink. She turned it over, there was no return address.

Elsie opened the letter carefully, and looked at what was inside.

Three sheets of paper. One looked like a list, another a map, and the last said in large, bold letters:

_**CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO HOGWARTS**_

_**SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**_

_**School will begin on September 1. **_

_**The Hogwarts Express will depart from Kings Cross Station, Platform 9 3/4 on this date, at 10am. Please be punctual. **_

_**Enclosed is a list of everything you will need for the school year. **_

_**Should you have any questions or concerns, please reply via owl.**_

"Er...what? Mum have a look at this."

Elsie handed the letter to her mum, who scrutinised it carefully.

"It must be some kind of joke. Your Uncle Ernie, up to his foolishness again."

Uncle Ernie was the odd one in the family, always playing practical jokes, never turning up anywhere on time, and always wearing the strangest clothes. "Yeah...it must be.." mumbled Elsie, but she was reminded of the book incident. Perhaps it was magic?

Something went wrong with the fishcakes, they got burned somehow, so Elsie and her mum had grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.

Elsie conveniently forgot to give the school's letter to her mother, and went to bed pondering all that had happened that day.


	2. An Unexpected Visitor

**Chapter 2**

Luckily for Elsie, the summer holidays were fast approaching, and being a teacher's pet had its benefits when it came to getting into trouble. Elsie got off lightly for the events of the previous day.

Elsie recieved a lunchtime detention, which in her eyes, was a good thing, because it meant being inside, away from all the brats in her grade, even if it meant writing four pages of lines saying _"I must not hit people."_

The rest of the week went by without incident, and that weekend Elsie and her mother recieved an unexpected visitor.

It was a saturday morning, and Elsie woke to the sound of knocking at their door. She ran to her window to spy on the visitor.

There was a man at their front door, dressed in an overly large royal blue trench coat, a yellow top hat, and a bottle-green suit with yellow converse shoes. It was her eccentric Uncle Ernie, who came visiting about once a year.

Linda opened the door, and greeted the visitor with surprise. "Ernest! I wasn't expecting you! How are you? Come in!" She ushered him inside and urged him to make himself at home.

"I've just got to finish making breakfast for Elsie," she called over her shoulder as she walked back to the kitchen. "It's pancakes, would you like some?"

"Absolutely, Linda, I'd love some," Elsie heard her uncle say.

Elsie quickly got dressed and rushed out to greet her uncle.

"Elsie! Just the girl I wanted to see! You've grown so big, and it's no wonder, with your mother's cooking. I have a present for you."

"Hi Uncle Ernie," Elsie said shyly. She stood in front of him, expectantly.

As she watched, her uncle reached into the inner pocket of his trench coat, and carefully pulled out what looked like a very large ball of grey lint, and held it out to Elsie in both hands.

But wait, this ball of lint uncurled itself and Elsie realised that it had limbs, and a tiny head with pointy ears and whiskers, which was now looking up at Elsie with impossibly bright blue eyes. It was a KITTEN!

Elsie carefully took the kitten and held it in her own hands. "Is it really mine?"

"Yes, if your mother lets you keep it. Otherwise I'll have to find it another owner."

Elsie turned toward her mother, who was now walking out of the kitchen with a tray stacked high with pancakes and maple syrup. Elsie looked pleadingly at her mother. "Can I keep him, please?"

"Is he house-trained, Ernie? Vaccinated? Registered?"

"It's all taken care of, Linda. You don't have to worry about a thing."

Linda sighed, then nodded and said "Fine, you can keep the kitten. But put him down while you're eating breakfast, and go and wash your hands." Elsie obediently set the kitten on the couch next to her, and went to wash her hands.

While they sat in the living room eating breakfast, Ernie told the family where he had been the past few months. He'd been to France, and described the Eiffel Tower, and the food, and the Louvres, and a whole manner of different places. He described them excitedly, waving his hands wildly about and twice nearly knocking over his cup of tea.

"I have something for you too, Linda. Here," he said as he pulled a black velvet jewellery box out of another pocket, and handed it to her.

Elsie's mother gasped as she opened the box. "It's beautiful! You shouldn't have..but thank you," she said as she showed Elsie what was inside. It was a pair of two gold rings, each set with an intricate pattern of sapphires and diamonds.

"Anything for my favourite sister in law," Ernie said with a smile. "I found it in my brother's things a few years ago, and I'm sure he was intending to give it to you before he..." Ernie trailed off, unsure whether to finish that sentence, because Elsie was in the room.

"It's okay, Uncle Ernie, I know he died of cancer when I was a baby," Elsie said reassuringly.

"Yes, when he died of cancer, that's right," Ernie repeated, and met Linda's eyes across the table.

"Elsie, honey, why don't you go and have a shower, while Ernie helps me clean up breakfast?" suggested Linda. Elsie knew this was code for "the grown ups need to have a private conversation now, run along."

So Elsie did as she was told. As she was drying her hair, she heard their raised voices carry across the house.

"HOW DARE YOU SUGGEST I DON'T KNOW HOW TO RAISE MY OWN CHILD!"

"I wasn't suggesting that Linda! I just think it's time she knew the truth!"

"What truth? The truth that made me lose Max in the first place? No! I turned my back on that world ten years ago, and I intend to keep it that way, Elsie included!"

Elsie wondered what on earth they were shouting about. It was obviously something very important, and Elsie crept out of the bathroom and closer to the living room so she could eavesdrop.

"You can't do that forever, Linda. It's obvious the girl's got talent, and she needs to be trained! Or have you forgotten how dangerous an untrained witch can be?"

_Witch?_ Elsie thought to herself. No, he must have said something else, possibly a rude word.

"She's not a witch. She would have shown it by now." That word again. Elsie wiggled her fingers in her ears to make sure she was hearing things properly.

"What's this letter then?" Elsie couldn't see, but heard paper rustling. She guessed it must have been the letter she was supposed to give to her mother last week, and though she didn't know what it had to do with witches, she felt she had some explaining to do.

Sheepishly Elsie walked into the room, her head down. "Mum?"

"Elsie! Were you eavesdropping?" Both Linda and Ernest turned towards her.

"Sorry Mum. You were both very loud though, our neighbours probably heard. I...I'm sorry about not giving you that letter from school. I should have known they'd send another one. I don't know what happened, I just snapped."

"What letter from school?" asked Linda, with a completely confused expression on her face.

Elsie looked at the letter in Uncle Ernie's hands. It was the odd one from "Hogwarts" that her mother had said was probably a prank. "What's going on, Mum? What were you arguing about?"

"Nothing, Elsie. It's nothing."

"It's not nothing, Elsie," cut in Ernie. "You're a witch, and so is your mother. And your father-"

"Was sick." Linda cut him off.

"No mum, I'm not two anymore, you can't just tell me it's nothing and expect me to ignore it. And you're scaring my kitten. Look, he's trembling!" They both looked as Elsie ran to pick up the grey kitten, who was indeed, trembling.

Linda looked at Ernie with despair. The secret she had fought so hard to keep for so many years, was all unravelling. She didn't think she was evil, hiding it from her daughter, it was just- _safer_ that Elsie didn't know. But now, she supposed, Elsie had to know, or their relationship would never be the same.

"Fine," she sighed, and motioned for both Elsie and Ernie to sit down.

"Your uncle's telling the truth, Elsie. I'm a witch. You're probably a witch, assuming that letter is indeed from Hogwarts. And your father...forgive me, Elsie. I can't talk about it, it's too painful."

Ernie put his hand on Linda's shoulder reassuringly.

"I'm a witch," Elsie said, disbelief obvious in her tone of voice.

"Yes, you are!" said Ernie excitedly. "And I'm a wizard!"

"I don't believe you," said Elsie. "Prove it."

POP! Uncle Ernie dissappeared.

POP! He reappeared.

"That, my dear, is called Apparating."

Elsie's mouth dropped wide open. She looked at her mother and asked "Can you do that?"

"Yes, but I'm out of practice. I haven't done magic in years."

"Why didn't you tell me, Mum? This is so cool!"

"I thought it would be safer. But it's obvious I couldn't hide this from you forever. Just remember, Elsie, magic is _**dangerous**_! It's not all fun and games. You need to be careful."

But Linda's warning went unheeded, as Elsie imagined all the cool things magic could do. She could turn David Lemon into a rabbit, see how that made him feel. She could dissappear whenever people were chasing her at school. Oh how marvellous life was going to be!

"So can I take Elsie shopping for her Hogwarts supplies?" asked Ernie gently.

"You mean that witchcraft school is real? It wasn't a joke? I get to change schools?"

"Yes, Elsie. I guess you'll have to now. It's a week until the school term ends, so there's not really any point going back to your old school is there?" conceded Linda.

Elsie had a huge grin on her face. She couldn't believe her luck. Magic was real, she was changing schools, and she had a very cute kitten to name. Elsie picked up the kitten and bounded into her room. She was going to scour her book collection for an appropriate and fitting magical name.

"I hope you know what barrel of trouble you've unleashed, Ernie." Whispered Linda, anxiously.

"It'll be fine, Linda. Trust me," said Ernie with a smile.


	3. A Black Trunk

**Chapter 3**

"Wake up Elsie, we're going shopping!" called Uncle Ernie the next Saturday morning. Elsie sat up and rubbed her eyes. Mr Maximus, the little grey kitten was now called, was curled up near her feet. She couldn't remember where she'd heard the name Maximus before, but for some reason it had stuck in her head.

She quickly got dressed in her favourite pair of jeans, and a green t-shirt, kissed Mr Maximus on the head and bounded out to the living room.

"How do you get to the magical shops, Uncle Ernie? I've never seen any in London," asked Elsie curiously.

"We'll be apparating. Don't worry, all you have to do is hold my elbow. I'll do all the magic work," he smiled.

Linda watched the two getting ready with sadness. She could see Elsie was excited, but Linda just felt so apprehensive. Elsie was so young, and naiive, and didn't understand the dangers. As Elsie brushed her teeth, Linda pulled Ernie aside.

"Be careful, please. I already lost my husband. Please look after her, Ernie. And don't tell her about her father, for my sake. I want to do that myself, when she's ready," pleaded Linda in a whisper.

"It'll be fine. The wizarding world's changed, it's nothing like it was twenty years ago, Linda."

"I hope you're right, Ernie. Look after her," urged Linda as Elsie came back into the room.

"Will you be coming, Mum?" asked Elsie.

"No, honey. I can't. Be careful, stay close to Ernest," Linda said as she hugged her daughter tight.

Elsie nodded, grabbed her uncle's elbow and then

POP!

They were in a cobbled alley, with shops up and down the street. Elsie looked around, wide eyed. She could see signs and displays that were bright, colourful and some even sparkling. A blur of names came across her eyes as she spun around to have a look.

"This is Diagon Alley, with everything a new Hogwarts student needs to buy right here," explained Ernie.

**Madame Malkin's**, **Flourish and Blotts**, **Ollivanders**, and one particularly colourful display that hurt her eyes, was **Weasley's Wizard Wheezes**. This shop looked like a lot of fun.

"Can we go there, Uncle Ernie?" she begged him.

"The first place we need to go is Gringotts. We'll need money before we can do anything else here. And Weasley's Wizard Wheezes is the sort of place your mother asked me to keep you away from!" he said with a laugh.

Elsie pouted, then grabbed Ernie's hand as they walked up the street towards a building that looked very intimidating. There were gargoyles around the outside that Elsie could swear she saw moving out of the corner of her eyes. They walked inside, and there was a long counter, and the bank tellers looked like goblins.

Ernie explained "I just need to get some money out of my vault. I'll be paying for anything you need for Hogwarts, okay Elsie? Your father didn't leave much behind when he went- I mean when he died."

Elsie nodded, wide eyed, and thanked him. She could hardly keep her jaw from dropping when a goblin lead them down a passageway to a cart, which they got into, and then it wizzed away really fast until it stopped at a gigantic vault door.

"Vault 412? Here it is, sir," said the goblin.

Ernie climbed out and using his key, opened the vault door slightly, and went inside before Elsie could have a look. He quickly came out with a bag of coins, jingling them.

"This is for you, Elsie. You should have enough for supplies and for anything else you want to buy this year. The gold coins are called Galleons, the silver ones Sickles, and the bronze ones Knuts," said Ernie as he climbed back into the cart.

They wizzed back up to the ground floor, got out of the cart, walked into the foyer and outside, and then Ernie stopped, and fished around in his pockets, and with triumph pulled out the school supply list.

"First things first, you need a wand! And Ollivander's are the finest. Are you ready to go on the shopping trip of a lifetime?" Ernie grinned and held out his hand. Elsie grabbed it, and they dashed up the street to Ollivanders.

Throughout the day Elsie kept being amazed at everything she saw. Ollivanders was dusty but she couldn't believe that wall to wall, ceiling to floor was stacked boxes of wands. The shop keeper took one look at her and said "Cedar Wood and Unicorn Hair." He placed a wand in her hand, and told her to wave it. She did, and butterflies made of gold glitter flew out of her wand. It felt light but sturdy, and Elsie knew it was the one for her.

At Madame Malkin's, the shop assistant took measurements with a magical tape that floated through the air, and the robes were made almost instantly.

Slug and Jigger's Apothecary had bottles and jars filled with exotic ingredients like lizard's eyes and spider's tongues and hair of doxy, and all sorts of things Elsie couldn't begin to name.

By the end of the day Elsie's arms were so tired from carrying everything that she nearly dropped it all. Ernie looked at her quizically, and slapped his forehead.

"You need a trunk, don't you! We should have got that first, I'm so sorry for making you carry all of that! Look, there's a vendor selling trunks," Ernie said, and pointed. He took some of the school supplies from Elsie's arms, and they walked over to the stall.

Elsie looked over the trunks. Some were brown, some black, some green. Some even had labels which said "Four times bigger on the inside!" or "Invisible compartment complete with invisible key!"

But Elsie saw one she instantly fell in love with. It was thigh high, and a good width, with black leather and gold clasps. It had a slight scuff on one side, but Elsie didn't care. It looked sturdy, and beautiful.

"Uncle Ernie, can I have this one?"

"That'll be five Galleons. It's used, but in good condition, and as you can see sir, the young lady is in love with it."

"That she is, sir. I'll take it," Uncle Ernie said, and he handed over the coins. "Here, I'll help you put everything in it," he said.

But before he did that Elsie noticed he muttered something under his breath and waved his wand over the trunk. He quickly put his wand away, and helped put Elsie's things inside the trunk.

"Was that a spell?" Elsie asked wide eyed.

"Not here, I'll explain later," Ernie said as he motioned for Elsie to grab his elbow.

POP!

They were back home in the living room, with Elsie's new trunk in tow. It was lighter than she had expected.

"I just had to check for any enchantments on the trunk before you touched it, and I didn't want the vendor to see me," explained Ernie. "There wasn't any, but I had to make sure."

Elsie nodded and turned toward the kitchen, where she heard her mother cooking dinner.

At dinner that night Elsie excitedly recounted everything that had happened that day and Linda smiled knowingly, remembering her first time at Diagon Alley. She had been like Elsie, and didn't know anything about the Wizarding World until her letter from Hogwarts arrived. Linda was a Muggle Born, and could remember all too well the amazement she had felt.

After dinner, Ernie cleared his throat suddenly, and announced "Well, I'd better get going."

"So soon, Uncle Ernie? But you only got here last week!" exclaimed Elsie.

"I have some things to sort out, places to be. I'll be back before you know it, kid.," said Ernie. And with that he Disapparated.

"Has he always been like that, Mum?"

"Yes," said Linda with a sigh. "I only ever see him once a year, and it's just like him to waltz in and change everything, then leave everyone else behind to clean up the mess."

Elsie didn't know what to say.

"Sorry, Elsie, I don't mean to complain. Your Uncle is a marvellous man. I just wish he'd stay for longer."

"I wish he'd stay longer too, Mum."

Elsie and Linda hugged each other for a while, and Linda whispered into her daughter's hair.

"Everything's about to change, Eleanor. And I just don't know if I'll be able to keep you safe."

Elsie looked up into her mother's eyes and saw they were filled with tears. "I'll be okay Mum. And I've got magic now. If anything happens I can just do a spell and it'll get better!"

Linda smiled and shook her head. "It doesn't work like that, Elsie. But you're right. Magic might make us safer. In fact, I've been thinking...

"How would you feel about moving again? Perhaps the countryside?"

"I don't mind Mum. As long as I'm with you," said Elsie, as she burrowed her face into her mother's shoulder. She was going to miss her during the school term.

Linda seemed to understand, and they stood there, hugging for a while.

The rest of the summer holidays Elsie spent just hanging out with her mum, and Mr Maximus. Occasionally, Linda would tell Elsie stories about when she went to Hogwarts, but the subject of her father was one she avidly avoided, which made Elsie curious. But she didn't want to make her mother change her mind about Hogwarts, so she kept those questions to herself, and daydreamed about Hogwarts.


End file.
